July 21, 2010 | Arts / Entertainment

Gay zombies not wanted in Australia

Australia’s Film Classification Board will not allow Bruce LaBruce's gay zombie porn to be shown at the Melbourne International Film Festival. 'L.A. Zombie,' filled with graphic and somewhat gory sex scenes involving the undead, would likely be refused any classification.

The board would normally not become involved in reviewing a film before being screened, but AFCB requested a DVD when it was advised about the content of the flick. 'L.A. Zombie' is a follow-up to LaBruce’s 2008 feature, 'Otto; Or, Up With Dead People,' and is about an alien zombie who re-animates the dead through sex. Included in the film are penises, wound penetration and implied necrophilia.

“It’s debuting in competition at the Locarno Film Festival in two weeks. The film obviously has artistic merit or it wouldn’t be in competition at an A-list film festival,” LaBruce said. “It’s a reaction against the cynical torture porn films that routinely show the rape of women. I’m just showing a creature that actually is an empathetic alien that brings people back to life.

“It’s strange that it’s the soft-core version that is playing at festivals. They haven’t even seen the hard-core version.”

It will cost the festival $2000 to appeal the decision. And what arts organization do you know with that kind of money?

Gay zombie film banned from Melbourne film fest [The National Post]

Gay zombie film banned from Melbourne festival [NineMSN]